


Warriors: The Ocean Territories

by lex_le_writer



Series: Warrior Cats: The Ocean Prophecy [1]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Fanfiction, Gen, Human Warrior Cats (Warriors), New Clans, Original Character(s), References to Warriors - Erin Hunter, Rewrite of Warriors - Erin Hunter, Twolegs (Warriors), the chosen one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:01:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25268014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lex_le_writer/pseuds/lex_le_writer
Summary: Kittypets often have a hard time when they first join a clan but what about a twoleg? Cody was a twoleg living an unsatisfied life but one day his entire life change when he gets transformed into a cat. Starclan seems to have a destiny for this cat. He goes out into the forest with his pet cat Luna. Due to a rule in the warrior code that allows any worthy cat to join a clan, the former twoleg and the kittypet are welcomed into Forestclan. Cody takes on his new name of Lightningpaw but can he make it in Forestclan? Can he protect his secret? Can this young twoleg turned cat find his place in this new world? Repost from my Wattpad account
Series: Warrior Cats: The Ocean Prophecy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1830598
Kudos: 2





	1. Allegiance

Forestclan

Leader: Sandstar - pale ginger she-cat with pale green eyes

Deputy: Leafstorm - mottled grey she-cat with blue eyes  
Apprentice, Lightningpaw

Medicine Cat: Rustyfur - dark ginger tom with icy blue eyes  
Apprentice, Flamepaw

Warriors (toms and she-cats without kits):

Liontail - golden tabby she-cat with orange eyes  
Apprentice, Beechpaw

Bluestream - blue-grey she-cat with amber eyes  
Apprentice, Whitepaw

Fireclaw - handsome ginger tom with blue eyes  
Apprentice, Frostpaw

Wildfire - mottled ginger and cream tom with hazel eyes  
Apprentice, Sunpaw

Twigstep - small brown tom with yellow eyes

Mouseear - dark brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Furryfoot - long brown-furred tom with amber eyes

Runningleap - large brown tabby she-cat with grey eyes

Ravenclaw - black tom with blue eyes

Darkstorm - large dark grey tom with piercing blue eyes

Longstripe - brown tabby tom with a long black stripe from his head to the tip of his tail

Whitepetal - beautiful pure white she-cat with amber eyes

Apprentices:

Lightningpaw - black and silver tabby tom with hazel eyes

Beechpaw - cream colored she-cat with blue eyes

Flamepaw - ginger tabby she-cat with golden eyes

Whitepaw - black tom with large white paws and amber eyes

Sunpaw - fiery ginger she-cat with a white muzzle and blue eyes

Frostpaw - pure white tom with blue eyes

Queens:

Flowerheart - pale ginger and grey tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Dappleleaf - calico she-cat with yellow eyes

Elders:

Sparrowpelt - mottled brown and white tom with amber eyes

Morningcloud - light grey she-cat with amber eyes

Brackentail - mottled brown she-cat with yellow eyes

Cloudydawn - white and ginger tom with green eyes

Praireclan

Leader: Hawkstar - smokey brown tom with black stripes and sharp yellow eyes

Deputy: Tabbytail - large ginger and black tabby she-cat with a thick bushy tail

Medicine Cat: Petaldew - soft-furred lilac tom with blue eyes

Warriors (toms and she-cats without kits):

Swiftshadow - lanky black tom with blue eyes  
Apprentice, Dovepaw

Moonstream - blue-gray she-cat with pale blue eyes  
Apprentice, Goldenpaw

Echoclaw - ginger tom with amber eyes  
Apprentice, Eggpaw

Hawktalon - pale brown tabby she-cat with yellow eyes  
Apprentice, Duckpaw

Sparrowsong - dark brown tom with emerald eyes  
Apprentice, Loudpaw

Fuzzywillow - golden brown she-cat with sharp claws

Beetleleaf - huge pale tabby tom with huge dark gray paws and green eyes

Leopardtail - black tom with lighter chest and paws

Goldenwater - golden tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Snowmist - muscular white tom with blue eyes

Blackfall - speckled black she-cat with amber eyes

Tinyclaw - small black tom with green eyes

Lightstripe - dark grey and white tom with a white stripe and amber eyes

Sparkfur - brown tabby she-cat with orange eyes

Shreddedear - white and brown tabby tom with battle-scarred ears and amber eyes

Honeypelt - orange tabby tom with dark brown stripes and yellow eyes

Dawnheart - long furred lilac she-cat with yellow eyes

Apprentices:

Dovepaw - white and gray tom with bright blue eyes

Goldenpaw - slim black she-cat with bright yellow eyes

Eggpaw - White tom with black speckles and dark brown eyes

Duckpaw - brown and cream tabby she-cat with green eyes

Loudpaw - large ginger tabby tom with bright yellow eyes

Queens:

Smokeyfur - Varied gray she-cat with orange eyes

Aspenwing - mottled light brown she-cat with blue eyes

Morningsong - white she-cat with a black front paw and tail and green eyes

Fogcreek - huge pale tabby she-cat with ice blue eyes

Elders:

Marshclan

Leader: Tawnystar - mottled, calico she-cat with green eyes

Deputy: Brightspots - creamy she-cat with spots and amber eyes

Medicine cat: Dappleshade - dappled brown and white tom with blue eyes

Warriors (toms and she-cats without kits):

Bouldershadow - grey and black tom with yellow eyes  
Apprentice, Perchpaw

Squirrelbelly - dark ginger tom with blue eyes  
Apprentice, Smallpaw

Lizardtail- light brown tabby she-cat with orange eyes  
Apprentice, Frogpaw

Muddybriar - mud brown tom with hazel eyes

Cricketsong - light brown tabby she-cat with grey eyes

Birchnose - long-tailed black tabby tom with green eyes

Reedpool - light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Shrewnose - lithe white tom with a missing tooth and amber eyes

Ashpetal - dark grey tom with orange eyes

Sunfur - fluffy light ginger she-cat with fluffy scruff and green eyes

Bogfur- gray tom with two brown paws and barely visible stripes, orange eyes

Silverdapple - silver she-cat with grey eyes

Browneye - pale brown mottled tom with brown eyes

Briarfrost - dark black she-cat with blue eyes

Ferretfoot - creamy brown tom with brown eyes

Amberleaf - light torbie tom with grey amber eyes

Tanglehawk - brown and white she-cat with messy fur and piercing blue eyes

Apprentices:

Perchpaw - gray and brown mackerel tabby tom with a white muzzle and green eyes

Smallpaw - small dilute calico she-cat with blue eyes and a long tail

Frogpaw - short-legged light brown she-cat with ginger patches and green eyes

Queens:

Fawnstep - brown and gray torbie she-cat with yellow eyes

Elders:

Rosefur - long-furred seal-point she-cat with yellow eyes

Oceanclan

Leader: Ripplestar - mottled brown tom with blue eyes

Deputy: Patchspots - red tabby she-cat with orange eyes

Medicine Cat: Dapplesky - red tabby tom with green eyes

Warriors: Specklefur - reddish-brown tom  
Apprentice, Thrushpaw

Darktide - dark black she-cat with icy eyes  
Apprentice, Brushpaw

Kelpfur - bright pale ginger tom with yellow-green eyes  
Apprentice, Redpaw

Dawnwatcher - agile night-black tom with black-tipped fur  
Apprentice, Pricklepaw

Dawnwatcher - ginger she-cat with pale orange stripes

Mossflame - brown tabby tom with bright orange eyes

Dappledspark - light brown she-cat with yellow eyes

Berrytooth - brown and cream tom with blue eyes

Mossyear - muscular russet-colored she-cat with amber eyes

Heavystorm - white tom with large black patches and yellow eyes

Swiftfoot - nimble bright ginger she-cat with amber eyes

Goldspots - mottled light brown tom with a golden-brown muzzle and amber eyes

Rustfoot - black tom with dark ginger paws and amber eyes

Brackenstream - Light brown she-cat with one green eye

Apprentices:

Thrushpaw - golden brown tom with a white stomach, chest, and paws and amber eyes

Pricklepaw - red she-cat with spiky fur and amber eyes

Redpaw - striking red she-cat with two front white paws and amber eyes

Brushpaw - lean, dusty tan tom with green eyes

Queens:

Sorrelfish - light tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

Timbersplash - black and brown she-cat with one missing leg and blue eyes

Swallowcall - russet-colored she-cat with light splotches with green eyes

Elders:

Jayspeck - dappled silver tom with brilliant blue eyes

Cats outside the clans

Rex - night-black tom with amber eyes

Cream - cream tom with green eyes

Leaf - brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Snow - white tom with amber eyes

Mouse - small grey she-cat with yellow eyes


	2. Prologue

A tom stalked through the tall grass. Paw steps falling silently onto the ground. He was following the scent of another cat. He spotted his prey ahead of him. The cat was in the middle of scenting for prey. He made sure to keep downwind. There was no room to make a mistake. He had one chance to get this right.

The tom quickly crept closer to the cat. Soon enough he was only a few fox-lengths away from his target, who was now slowly tracking a rabbit. He eyed his target intently, waiting for the cat to pounce on the rabbit. That would be when he attacked.

The cat sprang at the rabbit and the tom who stalked him sprang after him. He leaped onto the back of the cat as it killed the rabbit. He sunk his teeth into the neck of the cat and waited for their life to fade away.

The tom waited to see if the cat would stir once more. The cat gasped back to life and struggled to get up but was pinned down by the tom, unable to throw him off.

"What are you doing? I am your leader," the cat rasped.

"You are a weak excuse for a leader. Your time is up, I will kill you over and over again, as many times as I need to and when I'm leader, I will make our clan great. I will force the other clans to bow down to us, I will make them respect us again," the tom hissed into his leader's ear.

"No-" the cat gasped.

The cat struggled again to get out of the grip of his attacker but the tom dug his claws deeper into the cat.

"I can't wait to be leader, I hope I see you at my ceremony," the tom purred.

The tom bit down of his leader's throat once more and waited as his preys struggling grew weaker. This time he didn't stir.

"May you rest in Starclan," the tom meowed sardonically, dragging the cat's body away to clean off his scent.

Lightning flashed across the sky as if splitting it open. Thunder rumbled like the lions that the elders told kits about. The rain pattered down rapidly. A dark ginger tom hurried through the rain and into a cave where a pale ginger she-cat laid to avoid the storm.

"What is it Rustyfur, it's the middle of the night?" the she-cat meowed.

"It's the storm, Sandstar, Starclan has been sending me messages," Rustyfur meowed.

"What are they telling you?" Sandstar asked.

"I only get flashes. Bits and pieces of something bigger," Rustyfur meowed, Sandstar could hear him pacing in the dark, "Flashes of cats fighting and blood. So much blood, Sandstar. And it's storming, much like it is now," Rustyfur meowed shakily.

A flash of lightning revealed to Sandstar that Rustyfur's pelt was bristling, his eyes were wide, and his tail lashed to and fro. Sandstar was taken aback by this. Rustyfur didn't scare easily and yet he looked like a kit that came face to face with a badger.

"What do you think it means?" Sandstar meowed worriedly.

"It's trouble, for sure, but I have no clue," Rustyfur meowed.

"And the forest had been mostly peaceful for so long," Sandstar murmured.

"I'll continue to try to piece together what this means and see if Starclan tells me more," Rustyfur meowed, dipping his head.

The dark ginger tom has just turned around when a bolt of lightning flashed through the sky, it was far brighter than any of the lightning so far. It briefly illuminated the cave with light so intense that it was almost like it was sunhigh despite it being the middle of the night. Thunder followed, its rumble deafening.

Rustyfur froze, his damp tail bristling and lashing through the air. He muttered to himself and twitched where he stood. Then he collapsed. The Medicine Cat twitched and spasmed on the ground. His lips curled back in a snarl. His eyes were wide in terror.

Sandstar jumped to her paws and rushed over to the dark ginger tom.

"Rustyfur, Rustyfur, are you ok? Wake up," Sandstar meowed, desperately shaking the medicine cat with her paw.

The tom gasped, his eyes wide and breathing ragged. He looked fearfully at Sandstar.

"Sandstar," he groaned.

"What is it?" Sandstar meowed.

"An enemy will turn into an ally and save the clans, but before there is peace, blood with turn the ocean red," Rustyfur meowed as in between gasps for breath.

"An enemy will turn into an ally?" Sandstar murmured, "What could that mean?"

Sandstar helped the young medicine cat up to his feet.

"Do you have an idea as to the meaning of your vision?" Sandstar asked.

"I don't know," Rustyfur admitted, "Starclan has always been vague in its messages."

"Did you see anything else?" Sandstar asked.

"More cats fighting, more rain, wind, thunder, lightning, and everything was hidden in shadows. There was blood everywhere. Cat screeching and fighting. There were no stars or moon in the sky, nor was the sun out," Rustyfur explained.

"Dear Starclan, what is in store for Forestclan?" Sandstar meowed.

"Do not worry Sandstar," A voice mewed from behind.

"Brackenstar?" Sandstar meowed, spinning around, "It's really you," she meowed softly.

"What do you mean, 'Do not worry?'? I just saw the end of the clans in a dream," Rustyfur meowed angrily.

"That future is not inevitable, Rustyfur. Soon there will be a cat, not of the clans, who can save you all," Brackenstar meowed.

"Who is it," Sandstar meowed desperately.

"You will know soon enough," Brackenstar meowed before fading away.

The rain slowed to a stop. The storm that had been raging all day began to clear up and moonlight fell at the entrance of the cave. There was one more flash of lightning and the following rumble of thunder before everything was quiet once more.

"I pray that Starclan and this cat can save the clans," Rustyfur murmured.


	3. Chapter One

Cody laid in his bed looking up at his ceiling, hundreds of small white stars made of paint hung above him. His room has come like that. At first, he didn't like it, but now he fell asleep looking up at the fake stars. He rolled onto his side and looked at the door, wondering if his kitten, Luna, would sleep in his bed tonight.

Cody closed his eyes and drifted to sleep. Minutes later, he opened his eyes and to his shock, he wasn't in his room anymore. The light of the full moon shone around him. He was standing in the middle of an island. He could hear the rushing water around him. There was a rock as tall as he was on one side. Trees rose behind the rock and covered about half the island. Tussocks of grass covered the ground. The wind roared around him. The stars burned bright as fire above his head. He had never seen the milky way so clear before, with no light pollution to obscure the view. The shadows seemed to dance around him.

"Hello?" he called into the wind, "Is anyone there?"

He looked up at the sky. The stars seemed to be moving towards him. Faint outlines appeared around the stars. Hundreds of them seemed to be descending from the sky. Then the wind picked up to a deafening roar, he was unable to hear anything else over it.

The outlines touched down on the ground and Cody suddenly realized what was around him. Hundreds of cats with pelts of cold starry fire stood around him. Confusion washed over him before he realized that he must have been dreaming.

One of the cats walked up to him and looked him in the eyes. Cody could sense knowledge and wisdom radiating off the cat.

Then the cat spoke.

"Hello, Cody. My name is Brackenstar, former leader of Forestclan," Brackenstar meow.

"This is a dream, isn't it? But why does it feel so real," Cody asked.

"You're sharing tongues with Starclan," Brackenstar meowed.

"That... does not answer anything. In fact, I am so much more confused," Cody said.

The star-pelted cat ignored his reply and meowed, "Your life is about to change. You must embrace it. Starclan is calling to you, young Cody, do not shy away from your destiny," Brackenstar meowed.

Cody was about to ask him what he meant but everything started to fade away into blackness. He woke up with a start. He realized that he couldn't see a thing.

"Where's the light, am I blind?" Cody cried out.

He realized that he was under his blanket.

No, just stupid, he thought.

Cody popped his head out of his blanket.

"When did my bed get so big?" Cody wondered out loud.

Cody looked at himself and yowled in surprise. He had paws! Jumping off his bed with a thud, Cody scrambled to his mirror. He looked at himself with wide eyes. He was a cat, a kitten no less!

"What the fuck, what the actual fuck," Cody mewed.

He was covered in black fur with silver stripes and patches. He still had kitten soft down fur and a long tail. He had the same hazel eyes he always had.

"How is this possible?" Cody yowled, "I must be dreaming."

Cody remembered that hurting yourself was supposed to wake you up from a dream. He looked at his paw and saw the sharp claws of a cat. He scratched his leg as hard as he could with his paw. Nothing. Except for blood that swelled up from the small scatch.

"Oh god, I'm not dreaming," Cody mewed.

Cody started to freak out.

"Maybe I'm in heaven?" Cody mewed.

He paused.

"Why would I be a cat in heaven? Maybe heaven is just cats?" Cody pondered.

Then he remembered the weird dream he had last night. The name Starclan flashed into his mind.

"Oh god, maybe heaven really is just cats," he mewed.

From behind him, he heard the floorboard creak. He spun around but saw nothing. His door was open but he could see nothing from the dark hallway. Instinct gripped his body and he dropped into a crouch. His paws took him forward, scarcely making a sound on the wooden floor.

"Who's there?" Cody called softly.

He crept past the door frame and into the hallway. A weight hit him from the side and sent him crashing into a wall. The world spun around him before instinct took over again. He used his hind legs to kick his attacker away from him.

He saw the cream-colored fur of his attacker and realized who it was. His kitten, Luna stood a few inches away, with the fur along her back raised.

"Luna?" Cody mewed.

"How do you know my name?" Luna hissed and jumped at Cody. He didn't fight back and let Luna pin him down.

"It's me, Cody!" Cody mewed.

"The only Cody I know is my housefolk," Luna mewed, but she let her grip on him loosen.

Cody scrambled out of Luna's grasp and sat up. He licked his ruffled coat in embarrassment.

"I don't know what happened to me, I was sleeping, and then I had a dream about cats that came down from the stars, called themselves Starclan and said they were calling me and then I woke up like this!" Cody mewed desperately.

Luna stared intently at Cody. She seemed deep in thought, weighing his words carefully. The moments dragged on. Finally, she spoke.

"You don't seem to be lying, but how could you be Cody, you're a cat and he was my housefolk," Luna mewed.

"I don't know," Cody admitted.

Luna's eyes gleamed with mischief.

"Well! If you are Cody, there's so much I want to show you! Come on!" Luna exclaimed.

Luna bounded away without looking to see if Cody was following her. Cody stood there for a moment, bewildered, before deciding to follow her. She bounded down the stairs and zipped out of the house through the kitty door. Cody followed her downstairs and looked around to make sure nobody could see him before following Luna out the door.

Luna was waiting outside to see if he had followed and when Cody's head peeked out the door, she dashed off again. Cody watched as she streaked across the yard and bunched her muscles into a leap. She landed gracefully atop the backyard fence.

"What are you waiting for Cody?" Luna called.

"I've been a cat for less than a day!" Cody retorted.

His words were met with a mrrow of laughter.

Cody dashed across the yard and sprang at the fence. He misjudged the leap and his back paws were dangling off the side of the fence. Luna grabbed him by the scruff and yanked him the rest of the way.

"Where are we going?" Cody panted.

"We're going to explore the forest! I've always wanted to go with Cody, which is you I guess," Luna mewed.

Cody gave the forest an apprehensive look.

"What? Are you scared that a badger is going to eat you?" Luna purred and leaped down off the fence.

Cody shot her an indignant look and leaped down from the fence. He followed her into the woods. Cody's senses were flooded, unlike anything he had ever experienced before. The forest was filled with the sounds of life. Birds chirping, rustling bushes, and the wind blowing through the treetops. His nose was filled with scents he never smelled before. His eyes were wide with awe.

"Everything is so different! All of my senses are heightened!" Cody exclaimed.

Luna let out a purr.

"You certainly act like you haven't been a cat all your life," Luna mewed, her eyes gleaming with amusement.

Suddenly she stiffened.

"Do you smell that?" Luna mewed excitedly.

"Nope!" Cody mewed.

"I thought all of your senses were heightened?" Luna asked.

"Yeah but I don't know what anything smells like," Cody mewed defensively.

"Well, it's a mouse! Now shut up before you scare it away," Luna whispered.

Luna dipped into a hunting crouch. Cody spotted the mouse, it was several feet ahead of him, nibbling on a seed.

The air seemed to sit still as he watched Luna stalk the mouse. Her paw steps were completely silent. She leaped at the mouse but it sensed her a moment too soon. It darted away into a nearby thicket and Luna followed. Moments later, Cody heard a triumphant yowl. Luna must have caught the mouse. Cody followed her into the ticket.

Luna sat down with the mouse in her mouth, her eyes gleaming with pride.

"Good job," Cody purred.

Luna put the mouse down.

"Do you want to share it?" she mewed.

Cody looked at the mouse and expected to feel disgusted but he was shocked to realize that his mouth began to water. The urge to catch his own prey swept over him.

"I want to catch my own," Cody mewed, much to his surprise.

Luna got an excited look in her eyes.

"Let's see if you can catch a bigger mouse than me," Luna mewed.

Cody nodded and was about to turn when he heard a meow from behind him.

Luna's eyes widened with shock and the mouse fell from her jaws.

"What do we have here?" a she-cat meowed.

"It looks like a couple of kittypets stealing prey," A tom with a deep meow replied.

Cody spun around and his eyes widened.

Three large, intimidating cats stood in front of him, their pelts were covered in scars, their muscles rippled under their pelt, they were lean and powerful. These cats live in the forest, these were no house cats.

"What should we do with them, Fireclaw?" a mottled grey she-cat meowed, flexing her sharp claws.

"I think we should skin them and hang their pelts outside the forest to discourage other kittypets from coming into our territory," the tom named Fireclaw growled.

Cody's eyes widened with horror. These cats could easily kill them both.

Luna stepped forward with her fur fluffed up, but otherwise unafraid of the cats.

"This is our mouse, we caught it fair and square," Luna mewed, her hackles raised.

The third cat, a ginger she-cat- purred in laughter.

"Brave one, isn't she Leafstorm?" she purred.

"Yes she is, most cats wouldn't be so bold talking to the big bad Fireclaw," Leafstorm purred, flicking Fireclaw with her tail.

Suddenly a voice whispered into his head, "Do not be afraid little one, they will do you no harm," the voice meowed.

Cody let the fur on his neck sit back down. He steadied himself and looked at the cat in the middle, Leafstorm, in the eyes.

"We were just exploring the forest, we didn't mean to steal your prey," Cody mewed evenly.

Fireclaw was the one to reply.

"Just get out of our territory before we claw you," Fireclaw growled.

"Now, now Fireclaw, let's not be too hasty. These little cats had a very good idea. Let's see how they hunt. Maybe there's a place in the clan for him," Leafstorm meowed.

Cody was confused at what she said. What's a clan?

"But these are just kittypets! They can't become warriors," Fireclaw exclaimed.

"Any cat can become a warrior with the right training," Leafstorm meowed, "What do you think, Liontail?"

The ginger she-cat spoke up this time.

"They are certainly courageous cats, Fireclaw. I think we should give them a chance. They could do Forestclan good," Liontail meowed.

Fireclaw muttered something, apparently outvoted by the two she-cats.

Leafstorm looked back at the bewildered young cats sitting in front of her.

"What are your names?" Leafstorm meowed.

"I'm Cody," Cody mewed.

"And I'm Luna," Luna mewed.

"Have you ever heard of the four clans that live next to the ocean?" Leafstorm meowed.

"No?" Cody and Luna mewed in unison.

Leafstorm sat down and wrapped her tail around her paws.

"We are part of Forestclan, and the other clans are Praireclan, Oceanclan, and Marshclan. We all live by the warrior code. It binds clan life together. If you follow it, you'll lead an honorable and respectable life. You hunt and defend your clan and it takes care of you in return. Instead of the kittypet slop you eat, you'll be able to catch mice and other prey every day," Leafstorm meowed.

Cody thought about this for a moment. It sounded interesting, but he wasn't so sure he could leave his life to become a warrior. What if he becomes human again? Could he up and disappear from his home? On the other hand, what if he never became a human again? This life sounds far better than eating cat food for the rest of his life. Cody laughed inside as he realized that he'd rather eat dead animals than cat food.

He looked over at Luna and saw the excitement in her eyes. With a jolt, he realized that he'd likely go with her wherever she went. He was far more bonded to his kitten, who he raised from birth, than he was to his family. They didn't pay much attention to him. Still, this was still something they'd need to consider before accepting.

"Well?" Fireclaw growled.

Before Luna could answer, Cody interrupted.

"Can we think about it?" Cody asked.

"Very well, I will be back tomorrow at sunhigh. I need to ask our leader first anyway," Leafstorm said. She dipped her head and turned to walk out of the thicket. Liontail and Fireclaw walked out with her. Liontail looked back at them with a warm look.

"You can keep the mouse by the way," Liontail meowed back to them.

Cody licked the mouse from his jaws. He found himself to quite like the taste. He decided that it must be because he was a cat now.

He and Luna got up and started walking back to their den.

"Why didn't we just accept!" Luna asked as they walked.

"Because we need to think about it. We shouldn't just jump right into it. You can tell, just by looking at them, that they don't live an easy life," Cody mewed.

"But that life sounds so much better than a house life!" Luna exclaimed.

Cody got a hurt look in his eyes as he thought Luna didn't like living with him.

Luna noticed the look in his eyes and softly added, "I love you Cody, you were a good Housefolk and your pets were the best but cat food is so gross!" she exclaimed, wrinkling her nose.

Cody purred in amusement but quickly got serious again, weighing his options.

"What if I turn back into a housefolk?" Cody asked.

"What if you never turn back? You're housefolk won't know you're a cat now," Luna argued.

"But what if they find out I was a housefolk? What if they don't accept me?"

Luna brushed her cheek against his. "I accept you and your secret is safe with me," she mewed, "I want you to come with me."

"What about my parents? What if they miss me?" Cody asked.

"I don't fully understand housefolk, but they don't seem to pay much attention to you," Luna pointed out tentatively.

She was right, his parents barely paid attention to him.

"Let's go back to our den and see how they're holding up," Cody mewed.

They hopped over the backyard fence. Cody walked up to the kitty door and stuck his head inside. He saw his parents, they were sitting on the couch, laughing at the T.V. He had been gone all day and yet they didn't look worried about him at all.

Cody burned with rage inside. His parents didn't care. He turned to Luna.

"Ok, let's join Forestclan," He hissed fiercely, adding, "In fact, let's sleep in the forest instead of inside, we'll need to get used to sleeping outside,"

Luna looked at him sympathetically. They left the backyard and walked back into the woods. Cody noticed at the edge of the trees a strong scent like the cats flooded his nose.

They found a good place to sleep under a bramble bush and curled up under it. He curled up into a tight ball next to luna and laid his tail on his nose.

"Goodnight, Luna," Cody mewed.

She murmured a reply and soon Cody could hear her light snoring, telling him she fell asleep.

Cody soon followed her to sleep.


	4. Chapter Two

Cody woke up and realized that he was on the same island as before. This time, however, he could sense so much more. Now various prey-scents filled his nose and he could hear their moments in the shadows. Most of all, he could smell all sorts of cat scents. In the dream, he appeared as a cat, not a human. He could recognize a familiar smell.

"Brackenstar," Cody called out.

The brown tabby appeared in front of him.

"Cody, I'm glad you made this choice," he murmured.

Cody's anger boiled up.

"What else could I do?" Cody spat, "No home, no family, I'll die on the streets if I go out alone and I'd only find a good owner if I was lucky, or I'll end up with a bad owner or in a terrible shelter to die."

"I'm truly sorry that this is your fate, but may you make the best out of your new life. It is far better than a life surrounded by twolegs," Brackenstar meowed.

The dream started to fade away before Cody could say anything else. Cody hissed in frustration. The dream was replaced with a paw prodding into his side.

"Get up you lazy furball before it's past sunhigh," Luna hissed.

Cody woke up groggily before he remembered where they were going.

"Crap, what time is it?" Cody mewed, jumping to his paws.

Luna's eyes flashed with confusion before continuing.

"It'll be sunhigh soon, now let's go meet them before its too late," Luna mewed urgently.

She took off into the direction of the thicket and Cody followed.

Cody had to slow himself down, unused to running on four legs. Cody could smell their scents from the previous day. By the time they got there, Cody was panting, while Luna was barely out of breath. They waited in the thicket for the clan cats to arrive.

"So you came then?" Leafstorm meowed, walking into the thicket. She was followed by Liontail and a ginger she-cat they hadn't seen before.

Cody bowed his head, "After we thought about it, it was an easy choice," he mewed.

"I wasn't sure you'd come, Cody," Leafstorm meowed and turned to Luna, "Although, I thought you probably would," Leafstorm meowed.

"If we joined, it'd be together, and if we didn't, that would also be together," Luna meowed fiercely.

Leafstorm's eyes glinted in amusement and respect.

"Who's this?" Cody asked, looking at the new pale ginger cat.

"My name is Sandstar, the leader of Forestclan," Sandstar meowed.

Cody thought back to his dream of Brackenstar and flicked his ears, unsure of what that meant exactly.

"Leafstorm said that she found two kittypets willing to join our clan. We'll take you in but you must still earn your spot in the clan as outsiders and especially as kittypets. If you can't pull your weight, you'll be kicked out. It's not an easy life, the prey is not always plentiful, you might have to fight again other clans, you could die. That said, the rewards are great, you'll have honor, respect, you'll be free from twolegs, you'll have the satisfaction of catching prey not just for yourself but for your clan," Sandstar meowed, her voice serious. Then she added, "Only when everything else is done will you find time for fun."

"We're ready for anything," Luna mewed breathlessly, wholeheartedly ready for this, and Cody nodded his agreement.

"Then follow us back to camp. Keeping up with us is your first test, if you pass, you'll become apprentices of Forestclan," Sandstar meowed.

Sandstar, Leafstorm, and Liontail took off away from the thicket and Luna followed after them. Cody took to the rear. He suspected that the clan cats could run faster, knowing that he could. He didn't because he still wasn't entirely used to four legs.

They swerved through trees and avoided thorny bushes, the forest was a blur as they raced through. The clan cats leaped over a fallen log with practiced ease, while Luna and Cody had to scramble over it, running even harder to catch back up with them.

Cody's lungs were screaming. His legs could keep up but his lungs could not. Cody was about to start slowing down when the clan cats slowed to a stop. Cody and Luna skidded to a halt behind

Cody was practically dry heaving and Luna was breathing heavily, but the Clan cats were barely panting at all. Cody briefly remembered how cats didn't have sweat glands.

"Through that tunnel," Sandstar meowed pointing her tail at the cave, "Is where every member of the clan lives. If you are accepted, your home will be here too."

They plunged through the tunnel and into a clearing filled with cats. Dozens of heads turned to look at the newcomers. Murmurs rippled throughout the clan wondering what was going on,"

Sandstar leaped onto a rock ledge that jutted into the air. Cody noticed that a cave was below the rock. He could smell Sandstar's scent coming from within the cave.

"Let all cats strong enough to defend their clan gather beneath the rock ledge for a clan meeting!" Sandstar yowled.

Most of the cats were already gathering around the rock ledge, but a few cats crept out of their dens to see what was going on. More heads looked to the newcomers, who took a seat beneath the Rock Ledge when Leafstorm told them to. Some of the cats glared at them. Cody flinched under their hostile glares. Luna sat up proudly and flicked her tail at Cody for him to do the same.

Muttering came from the clan.

"They smell like twolegs,"

"They smell like kittypets!"

"Why are they here?"

"Look, she's wearing a collar!"

Sandstar yowled for silence.

"As you know, the warrior code allows any cat to join the clans if they prove themselves worthy of being a clan cat," Sandstar yowled.

"But those are kittypets! They're too soft for clan life!" someone yowled back. Mutters of agreement followed.

Sandstar yowled for silence.

"Some of you here joined the same way, brought in because you proved yourself to be capable warriors and of value to your clan. Let these cats prove themselves worthy of being members of Forestclan," Sandstar yowled.

"How can kittypets join a clan? They're soft and their stink will scare away all the prey," A white tom growled.

Cody felt his neck fur bristling as the cat insulted them. The tom couldn't be much older than luna was, or how old Cody looked.

"I don't want to share the apprentice's den with them," the white tom mewed.

Mutters of agreement followed.

Cody's skin crawled as he looked at the apprentice. His anger grew more as he more cats joined in.

"They'll just eat all the food and we'll all go hungry," the tom continued, spurred on by the agreement of his clanmates.

Cody sheathed and unsheathed his claws and readied himself to leap. He let his instincts take over as he shot forward and knocked the smug apprentice over. The apprentice was completely unprepared for it.

Cody felt anger and determination flow through his veins. Anger at his parents, anger at Brackenstar, anger at this cat. And a firey determination to prove him and everyone else wrong. He dug his claws into the apprentice and bit into his shoulder. The other cat let out a fierce yowl. They tumbled around the clearing, clawing and biting, a whirlwind of fur.

The white apprentice pinned eventually pinned Cody down. He struggled briefly under the weight before it came off of him. He looked and saw that Luna had knocked the tom off of him. The tom hissed and leaped at Luna but Cody slammed his paws into his side. The tom hissed and struck at Cody. Cody dodged and Luna raked her claws down his side.

Cody and Luna stepped toward the tom and the tom backed away, hissing. Before the battle could go on, Sandstar yowled for them to stop.

"That will be enough. Frostpaw, have Rustyfur check your wounds. Cody and Luna, you'll both go see Rustyfur, our medicine cat, after your apprentice ceremony. And remember, you will have plenty of opportunities to prove yourselves from here on out," Sandstare meowed. Frostpaw started to leave when Sandstar added, "Oh and, you all can remove the ticks from the elders. Frostpaw, you'll be showing them how to do it,"

Frostpaw stalked across camp to what Cody assumed must be the medicine cat den. A dark ginger cat followed him into the den.

"You and Luna fought well," Leafstorm murmured to him as he walked by.

Sandstar beckoned Cody and Luna forward, "Cody and Luna, you have both been accepted into the clan and now you will be apprenticed," Sandstar beckoned Cody forward, "From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, Cody, you will be known as Lightningpaw. Your mentor will be Leafstorm. I hope she passes down everything she knows to you," Sandstar meowed, "Leafstorm, come here."

Leafstorm padded forward and bowed her head.

"Leafstorm, you are ready to take on another apprentice. You have shown yourself to be strong and cunning. I expect you to pass down these qualities to Lightningpaw."

Lightningpaw stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do next until Leafstorm purred in amusement and whispered, "Now we touch noses."

Lightningpaw shuffled in embarrassment and stretched forward to touch noses with Leafstorm. The sat down at the front of the crowd and watched Luna receive her name.

"From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, Luna, you will be known as Beechpaw. Your mentor will be Liontail. I hope she passes down everything she knows to you," Sandstar meowed, "Liontail, come here."

Now Liontail padded to the front of the group and Sandstar kept going.

"Liontail, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have shown yourself to be intelligent and patient. You will be the mentor of Beechpaw and I expect you to pass on all you know to Beechpaw," Sandstar meowed.

Beechpaw stepped forward and touched noses with Liontail, her eyes glimmering with excitement. She sat down next to her mentor and Lightningpaw.

The clan called out their names.

"Lightningpaw,"

"Beechpaw,"

"Lightningpaw,"

"Beechpaw,"

Their calls flooded Lightningpaw with a sense of pride. He sat straight up and drank in their cheers. So though, they dispersed and began to talk amongst themselves.

Lightningpaw walked up to Beechpaw.

"It looks like you won't be needing this," Lightningpaw mewed to Beechpaw, pointing his tail at her collar.

"Help me get it off then," Beechpaw purred.

Ligthningpaw gently bit down on the latch until he heard a click. He watched as the collar fell to the ground. Beechpaw began to kick dirt over it, burying it and her old life with it.

"Alright, you two go to the medicine cat den now. Then you'll go to Frostpaw so he can show you how to clean the elders," Liontail meowed.

"If you two hurry and finish it quickly, we'll show you two around the territory." Leafstorm meowed.

Lightningpaw and Beechpaw raced away to the medicine cat den, Frostpaw was walking out with cobwebs on his side. He glared at them as he walked past them. Leafstorm stopped him as he walked towards a den. She pointed him in the direction of another den and he went and sat in front of the den, glaring at them still.

"Rustyfur? Leafstorm told us to go get out wounds looked at here," Lightningpaw mewed.

"Come in," Rustyfur's meow came.

They walked into the den. The smell of various plants, berries, and other plants drifted into Lightningpaw's nose.

There was a pretty ginger she-cat with him.

"Hi there Lightningpaw, Beechpaw, I'm Flamepaw," she mewed.

"My apprentice," Rustyfur meowed gruffly, "Now, come here and sit still so I can look at your wound."

Lightningpaw sat there as Rustyfur looked through his fur.

'When did cats learn to use medicine? How did nobody know about this?' Lightningpaw thought.

"Your wounds are superficial, you'll be fine. Just lick the blood from your fur, and I'll put a poultice on it" he meowed, turning to his apprentice, "Flamepaw, what do we use to treat wounds?"

"Normally you'd use marigold to treat the would and prevent infection and cobwebs to stop the bleeding," she mewed, eyes gleaming. Rustyfur nodded in agreement.

'This is new,' Lightningpaw thought as he licked the blood from his fur,

He quickly checked Beechpaw's wounds too. "You're fine, you don't need any herbs," Rustyfur meowed.

Beechpaw nodded and waited for Lightningpaw to finish and get treated.

'I am so flexible,' Lightningpaw thought in awe as he licked his outstretched leg.

"Ok, Flamepaw, do you want to put the poultice on him?" Rustyfur asked.

Flamepaw nodded and Lightningpaw sat still as she put marigold on his shoulder. He winced as the juices seeped into his wounds.

'I hope they know what they're doing," Lightningpaw thought, missing human doctors and their modern medical practices.

"Thank you," Lightningpaw mewed, dipping his head to Rustyfur and Flamepaw.

"Thank you," Beechpaw mewed, dipping her head too.

They walked out of the Medicine Cat's den and Beechpaw spoke again.

"Finally!" she mewed excitedly, "Let's go and take the ticks out of the elders so we can go see the territory!"

Lightningpaw was about to agree with her when he saw Fireclaw stalk through the camp entrance. He watched the tom with intent as he walked up to Frostpaw.


	5. Chapter Three

Fireclaw started to meowed something to Frostpaw. The white tom shook his head and flicked his tail to the two new apprentices, glaring at them while he did that. Fireclaw walked over to them. The tom towered over them, large and intimidating.

Lightningpaw and Beechpaw stood up straight and met his eyes. They refused to let the large ginger tom scare them.

"So you really decided to join us then? How brave of you, I was sure that you wouldn't join. Kittypets have no place in a clan," Fireclaw leaned in closer, swinging his head to look at both apprentices. Then he whispered, "Let's see how long you two last," his hot breath sending shivers down Lightningpaw's spine.

Fireclaw backed away and stood there for a moment, looking both apprentices in the eyes. They met his stare, unflinching. He then walked away to the warrior's den. He disappeared inside.

Lightningpaw let out the breath he was holding in.

"He's nice," Lightningpaw mewed sarcastically now that he was out of ear-shot.

"We'll just have to prove him wrong," Beechpaw mewed with a look of determination on her face, "We'll just have to the best so that nobody can question us."

"Hey kittypets, hurry up, I have better things to do," Frostpaw yowled from across the camp.

Lightningpaw mrrowed in laughter.

"Let's go and get this over with so we can go on patrol," Lightningpaw mewed. They bounded over to the white apprentice and waited for him to tell them what to do.

"I'll claw you both if you make me wait again," he growled.

"Like how you clawed us earlier today? Because that went so well for you," Beechpaw challenged with a purr.

Frostpaw glared at her, his eyes filled with hatred. The tom closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath. Then he opened his eyes and began to explain what they had to do in his best attempt at a calm voice.

"Now that you're apprentices, there are certain things you have to do. One of them is taking care of the elders. We have to change their bedding and remove their ticks. Removing ticks is easy. All you have to do is search through their fur like you would your own, and when you find one, you take it between your teeth and pull it out. If you can't get it out, go talk to Rustyfur, he'll give you mouse bile. To change their bedding, you have to gather the old stuff out, get rid of it, and get some new moss. Ring out the water, make sure you get it all out and line their nests with it," Frostpaw mewed, "Now let's get this over with so I don't have to see you two for the rest of the day."

Lightningpaw followed the angry apprentice into the den. There were four cats inside. It was warm and well protected from the elements.

"Are you two the new cats? What were your names again, Thunderpaw and Birchpaw?" a mottled brown and white tom asked in a raspy meow.

"No, you mouse brain, their names are Lightningpaw and Beechpaw," rasped a light grey she-cat.

"Don't mind old Sparrowpelt here youngins', he's not as sharp as he used to be, now what brings you all here?" a white and ginger tom meowed.

"These two kittypets attacked me, and now I'm stuck cleaning your ticks," Frostpaw grumbled.

"Really now? And you did nothing wrong, they just attacked you for no reason?" the fourth elder, a mottled brown she-cat, asked.

Frostpaw didn't answer and got to work removing the ticks from the nearest elder, the white and ginger tom.

Lightningpaw got to work to remove the ticks from the mottled brown she-cat. He learned that her name was Brackentail. Beechpaw started removing the ticks from the tom named Sparrowpelt. The fourth cat, the light grey she-cat, was named Morningcloud. As the apprentices were working, the elders started to talk.

"So, who are your mentors?" Brackentail asked.

"My mentor is Leafstorm," Lightningpaw mewed.

"Aren't you lucky? That's Sandstar's deputy. A skilled warrior that one is, if anyone can make you into a good warrior, it's her," Brackentail meowed.

Lightningpaw decided he'd ask Leafstorm what a deputy was later.

"My mentor's Liontail!" Beechpaw mewed excitedly.

"It's about time she got her first apprentice," Morningcloud meowed.

"Why hasn't she had an apprentice yet?" Beechpaw asked.

"She moved into the nursery after she became a warrior so she couldn't have an apprentice. Now her kits are apprentices, Flamepaw and Sunpaw, have you met them yet?" Morningcloud meowed.

Lightningpaw remembered the pretty ginger she-cat from earlier but didn't remember anyone named Sunpaw.

"We met Flamepaw while we were in the Medicine Cat's den, but we haven't met Sunpaw yet," Lightningpaw mewed after cracking a tick.

"They're completely different cats, Flamepaw was sweet and sensitive as a kit, practically built to become a medicine cat. While Sunpaw was strong and fiery and had the makings of a great warrior. They were two very different cats, but they always had each other's back," Morningcloud purred.

Frostpaw finished checking Cloudydawn for ticks.

"Hurry up and finish, I have to show you two where to get moss at," Frostpaw growled.

The two cats soon finished checking the Brackentail and Sparrowpelt for ticks and went to check Morningcloud for ticks

"You two don't need to check me, I don't have any ticks. Go get the moss quickly, I'm sure you two want to go on your first patrol," Morningcloud purred.

They followed Frostpaw out of the den and out the camp entrance. Nearby was a pool of water with moss growing on the rocks and trees around it.

"This is one of the best places to get moss. Make sure you ring the water out," Frostpaw muttered, gathering some moss and showing them how to ring it out.

Soon they had filled their jaws up with moss and was carrying it back to camp. They removed the old, musty bedding and replaced it with the new moss. Frostpaw stalked out of the elder's den without saying a word.

It wasn't long after that Lightningpaw and Beechpaw finished putting down the bedding. They said their goodbyes to the elders.

"Go on, youngins, go to your mentors," Cloudydawn meowed.

Lightningpaw and Beechpaw sprung up and left the den to go find their mentors. Lightningpaw saw his mentor, Leafstorm, talking to a few cats. Lightningpaw walked up to Leafstorm as the cats walked out of camp.

"What were you doing?" Lightningpaw mewed.

"I was sending out a hunting patrol, it's one of the jobs of a deputy," Leafstormed explained.

"The elders mentioned that you were deputy," Beechpaw mewed.

"What else does a deputy do?" Lightningpaw asked.

"Sandstar is the leader, and I am her deputy, basically her second in command. I organize the patrols and such," Leafstorm meowed.

"And when Sandstar dies, Leafstorm will go to the top of Starclan's Watch with Rustyfur and Flamepaw and get her nine lives from Starclan," Liontail added as she came up from behind them.

"Pray to Starclan that that does not happen for many moons, Sandstar is a great leader, and I am not ready to take her place," Leafstorm meowed, licking her chest in embarrassment.

"I want to be deputy one day," Beechpaw mewed, her eyes glittering.

Lightningpaw wasn't so sure. Being deputy obviously came with a lot of responsibility. A responsibility he wasn't sure that he wanted. But one thing did catch his attention, leaders got nine lives according to Liontail. Two days ago, he would have found that absurd, but now he thought anything was possible.

"If you train hard and are loyal to your clan, then one day you might, but you'll need an apprentice of your own first," Liontail meowed to her apprentice.

"Enough talk, Let's go before it's midnight," Leafstorm meowed.

They walked out of camp, and Leafstorm began to explain their route.

"We'll go to the abandoned twoleg path, which is our border with Marshclan. Then we'll follow the river upstream. Next, we'll walk along the cliffs to twoleg-place. After that, we'll follow the border with twoleg place until we're back at the twolegpath. And then we'll head back to camp," Leafstorm meowed.

"Don't expect us to slow down for you. There's a lot of ground to cover, and you two already spent a long time taking care of the elders. So we'll be doing this as quickly as we can, you'll just need to keep up," Liontail meowed.

"You won't have to worry about us!" Lightningpaw mewed.

They headed straight for the Marshclan border. On the way, Lightningpaw could smell something new. Leafstorm and Liontail took the opportunity to teach them about the forest. The pair of mentors took the time to teach the apprentices what different smells were. They pointed out the scent of a rabbit, squirrel, the different types of birds, and other prey.

As they got closer to the border, Lightningpaw thought he could smell Marshclan before he could see their territory.

"What's that smell?" Beechpaw asked, wrinkling her nose.

"That is Marshclan. Their territory it's all swamp, pine trees, and marsh and their prey is just as gross" Liontail meowed, spitting.

"Don't be so rude, Liontail, the warriors of Marshclan are brave and resourceful cats," Leafstorm meowed.

"But am I wrong?" Liontail meowed, flicking Leafstorm with her tail.

Leafstorm rolled her eyes.

They padded out into a clearing, and Lightningpaw realized that all that separated the two territories was a thin dirt road, along with the powerful scent of the border markings. Forestclan territory sloped down, flattened out when it got to the road, before dropping even more. Marshclan's territory was flat and covered in pines rather than Forestclan's oaks, beeches, and maples.

"Marshclan cats have powerful hind limbs and are adept at walking and running through their boggy territory," Leafstorm explained.

Lightningpaw and Beechpaw nodded eagerly.

"Now, if we follow the twoleg path border, it'll lead to the river," Leafstorm meowed.

They followed the twoleg path. It led to a bridge that crossed the river. Lightningpaw followed the bridge to see where it went and felt his neck fur bristling. It was a very familiar sight, he recognized the trees, the bushes, the large rock that jutted out of the ground. It was the island from his dreams!

Beechpaw looked at him and whispered, "Is something wrong, Lightningpaw?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," he mewed, taking in a deep breath and letting the raised fur on his neck fall flat again.

Beechpaw looked unconvinced but didn't press him any further.

"Across the twoleg bridge is the Gathering Island," Leafstorm explained, "Every full moon, Marshclan and Forestclan use it to cross the river to go to the gathering+. The clan leaders share news about the current events in a clan. Long ago, Starclan provided each clan with a way to cross. On the other side of the island, there's a fallen tree that Praireclan uses it to get to the island, and Oceanclan wades across the river at a shallow point."

"Does everyone go to the gathering?" Beechpaw asked.

"No, Sandstar picks a few cats to go with her every gathering," Leafstorm explained.

"It's normally the leader, the deputy, the medicine cat, some of the warriors and apprentices and some of the elders, if they can go," Liontail elaborated.

"And if you two don't cause any trouble, I'll see if you can go. But if you cause trouble, we'll take Frostpaw instead," Leafstorm meowed.

"No! We can't have that, now can we Lightningpaw! We'll be disgraced," Beechpaw yowled in an overdramatic tone.

"Disgraced indeed," Lightningpaw gasped, "I could never show my face again if he went instead of us."

Leafstorm and Liontail let out small mrrows of laughter.

The group was now following the river upstream. Lightningpaw looked to the other side and saw a wide stretch of tall grass and even farther back, hills that rose above the plains. He felt something he couldn't explain as he stared at the hills. Leafstorm saw Lightningpaw staring in the distance and began to tell him what they were

"Those hills are called Starclan's watch. That's where new leaders go to get their nine lives, they climb up the highest hill and sleep under the stars. The sunstone is also there. Clan leaders and Medicine cats use it to talk directly to Starclan. They're the only ones who know exactly where it is," Liontail meowed.

"What exactly is Starclan?" Beechpaw asked, "We've heard it meowed around, but nobody ever explained what or who they were,"

"They are our warrior ancestors. When a clan cat dies, they go to Starclan. They have plentiful prey, and there is no suffering. And when the clans are in trouble, they guide us through it," Leafstorm explained.

'Cat heaven that's nice, I wonder if there's a cat hell too?' Lightningpaw thought.

He once again thought about the dreams he was having recently, and then it hit him. He had been talking to the warrior ancestors of these cats.

'What does this mean?' Lightningpaw wondered, 'Did I dream about cat gods?'

The sun low in the sky by the time they arrived that the high-cliff. Lightningpaw and Beechpaw instantly understood why it was called that. The highest point was as high as the trees. The river cut through the cliffs to create a gorge. On the Praireclan side of the river, the cliffs went on until they became hills that went all the way to Starclan's watch.

They followed the border with high-cliffs and watched as it slowly slopped down before becoming level with the ground again. Then came the border with twoleg place. Lightningpaw looked at his old neighborhood. He remembered his old life, how unsatisfied he was with it. Deep down, he knew he wouldn't miss it. There wasn't much there for him.

They walked along the border with twoleg place, and Lightningpaw once again noticed how many more scents he could smell than before. There were cat scents, dog scents, prey scents, twoleg scents, and he could smell the scent of cars but it was far acrider as a cat, leaving a bad taste on his tongue.

They got back to where they started and began walking back to camp. It was getting dark, stars were beginning to appear across the sky. The moon was approaching a half-moon.

"Those are Forestclan's borders, remember them well, for you'll have to defend them one day," Leafstorm meowed when they got back to camp.

"Now, you two go eat some fresh-kill and then rest, you must be exhausted," Liontail meowed.

She was right, not that either one of them would admit it, Lightningpaw's paws were incredibly tired. He imagined that he'd be sore tomorrow. He could see the relief flash in Beechpaw's eyes too.

Once they were in camp, Leafstorm and Liontail walked over to the fresh-kill pile and settled next to the warrior's den to talk to some other warriors.

The apprentices looked at what there was to offer after Leafstorm and Liontail left. Lightningpaw grabbed a squirrel, and Beechpaw grabbed a rabbit. They settled down near the apprentice den to eat.

"There's so much to learn!" Beechpaw exclaimed as she chewed her rabbit.

"There's so much we have to prove," Lightningpaw reflected.

"And that's what we'll do. One day I'll become the deputy, and then I'll become leader, and I'll prove everyone wrong about kittypets. I'll make you my deputy'," she mewed, clawing at the ground.

"What if I want to be deputy first, hm?" he teasingly purred.

"Then I'll happily serve as your deputy if you ask," she mewed back.

"Of course I'd want you to be my deputy," he mewed softly, "Now let me try some of that rabbit,"

Lightningpaw took a bite of the rabbit and let Beechpaw take a bite of his squirrel. Her face lit up at the taste.

They finished their meal and buried the bones. The two cats walked into the apprentice's den. Lightningpaw saw two cats that he recognized. There were Flamepaw and Frostpaw, as well a pale ginger she-cat that Lightningpaw assumed was Flamepaw's sister, Sunpaw, and an unfamiliar black tom with white paws.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the two kittypets, Cody and Luna," Frostpaw sneered.

"That's not our names any more! It's Beechpaw and Lightningpaw," Beechpaw hissed.

"It's not like you'll be keeping those names for long, you'll probably leave as soon as leaf-bare hits, as soon as things get hard," the black tom growled.

"Yeah, everyone knows kittypets can't be warriors, you're both too soft. Once a kittypet, always a kittypet," the ginger she-cat jeered.

Lightningpaw and Beechpaw raised their hackles at the other three apprentices.

"Do you want to take this outside?" Lightningpaw growled.

"I'm ready when you are," Frostpaw hissed, "Let's see how well you fight when it's not two on one,"

Lightningpaw bared his teeth at the other apprentices when Flamepaw spoke up.

"Enough! Why are you acting like this? The warrior code says that any cat can be a warrior, so give them a chance. I expect more from all of you," Flamepaw hissed and turned to Sunpaw, "And I especially expected more from you."

Flamepaw got up and walked to the other side of the den to Lightningpaw and Beechpaw. He gave Flamepaw a sympathetic look. Then he snuck a glance at Sunpaw and saw a hurt expression on her face. She curled up into a ball and laid her tail over her nose, huffing out a sign.

"I'm sorry, they're normally not like this," Flamepaw mewed.

"It's okay, we're just going to have to prove them wrong," Lightningpaw mewed.

"Sunpaw especially is not normally like this," she mewed, looking at the pale ginger she-cat, who was curled up.

"She's your sister, right? The elders told us," he mewed.

"They told us she was nice too," Beechpaw added bitterly.

"I'm sorry, my sister is normally better than this," she sighed, "She's going to be mad at me for defending you, I hope she gets over it soon."

Lightningpaw wasn't sure what to do, so he just shot her another sympathetic glance, "I'm sorry," he mewed.

"It's okay," she mewed.

"Some of us are trying to sleep here, so why don't you all just shut up," Sunpaw growled.

"Let's get some rest," Beechpaw mewed, collapsing into the moss.

"Today was exhausting," Lightningpaw mewed

Lightningpaw curled up into a ball and felt the tension flood out of his body. He fell asleep to Flamepaw's warm flank on one side, and Beechpaw's to the other.

This is a repost from my Wattpad account, Heckinwrite, please do not report it. And if you enjoyed, leave a comment!


	6. Chapter Four

The new moon floated in the sky, the sky was clear, and silverpelt twinkled brightly above. A spasm rippled through Lightningpaw's body. His eyes shot open, and he gasped for air. Shooting to his paws, he half ran, half stumbled out of the Apprentice's Den.

There was nobody around, everyone was fast asleep in their dens. Lightningpaw crashed through the camp entrance. His fur was bristling, and his body was in agony. He stumbled away from camp as quickly as he could before his paws gave out under him and he collapsed in the middle of the forest.

The world spun around him, and he tried desperately to stand up. His legs shook under him, and his vision was blurry. As it cleared, he looked at what he thought were his paws. He gasped when he realized that they weren't paws but hands instead!

'I'm human again?' Lightningpaw thought.

He looked at his body. He had no clothing on.

'Where are my clothes? Cats don't wear clothing,' he realized, answering his own question, 'I am constantly naked.'

Lightningpaw walked in the direction of twoleg place, remembering someone who hung up their clothing in the backyard to dry. The new moon would make it hard for anyone to see him. He reasoned that being wet was better than being naked.

It had been about a half a moon since he joined Forestclan. He was becoming familiar with the forest. Though not every cat had accepted him, he was starting to form a close bond with a few of the cats. If he stayed like this, he knew he would miss them.

He found the house that hung their clothing in the backyard. There was a robe hanging from the line. It was dry enough, so he took it.

"I never thought my life would come to this," he said to himself, laughing a little as he tied the robe. He climbed back over the fence.

He remembered his family. Felling drawn back to them, he following the fences until he found his house again.

"Can I even go back? What would I tell them?" Lightningpaw murmured.

"Lightningpaw, it's good to see you again," came the meow of a cat.

He spun to his left to see who has said that. He saw the familiar starry pelt, the same fur color as before. It was Brackenstar, walking along the fence of his old home.

"What's happened to me, Brackenstar?" Lightningpaw asked.

"You're human side took over again," Brackenstar explained, "But don't worry, you'll turn back to a human every new moon, and you'll turn back at daybreak. It should get easier over time."

"Will it ever stop?" Lightningpaw asked.

"I don't know, maybe, this is as new to me as it is to you," he meowed.

"Did Starclan not do this?" Lightningpaw spat.

"This is above Starclan's power," Brackenstar meowed, shaking his head.

"What then, God?" Lightningpaw asked, raising his voice in frustration.

"It was not what twolegs refer to as God either," Brackenfur meowed jumping down from the fence, "Walk with me,"

They walked through the forest in silence for a while before Lightningpaw started to grow impatient.

"Well?" he asked, the annoyance clear in his voice as looking down at the Starclan cat.

"Not everything is in Starclan's hands. We don't make prophecies ourselves. They're given to us by Nature." Brackenstar explained, adding, "We do not know everything. We cannot see everything, we get glimpses into the future, but we are not all-powerful."

The tom stopped and faced Lightningpaw, "In time, you will learn more, you just need to be more patient," he meowed, fading away. In his place stood Beechpaw, her jaw agape.

"Cody? Is that you? Who were you talking to?" Beechpaw mewed. Lightningpaw realized that he could still understand cat-talk.

"It's me, Lightningpaw," Lightningpaw said, crouching down to her level.

"So, you were telling the truth then," Beechpaw murmured.

"Of course, Beechpaw, I wouldn't lie about that," Lightningpaw said softly, reaching out his hand to pet Beechpaw. She stretched out to meet his hand, purring.

"It's so good to see you again," Beechpaw mewed, "Well, you as in my housefolk."

"It feels weird to be a twoleg again," Lightningpaw admitted.

"Does this mean you'll be leaving Forestclan," Beechpaw mewed sadly.

"No, I'll be a cat again when the sun starts to rise," Lightningpaw said, his eyes glittering. The excitement he felt as a cat didn't go away when he became a human.

"What should I tell the clan if they ask where I've been, or they ask you?" Lightningpaw realized fretfully.

"We'll just say we went on a walk and that we've been hunting," Beechpaw mewed.

"I hope they believe us," Lightningpaw said.

Beechpaw sat down next to him, "Don't worry, Lightningpaw, everything will be fine," she mewed.

They sat there, looking up at silverpelt for awhile before Lightningpaw spoke up again.

"Beechpaw," Lightningpaw paused for a moment before he kept going, "I've been getting dreams from Starclan."

Beechpaw's eyes widened in shock, "Are you serious? Lightningpaw, that's amazing. I was having trouble believing Starclan was real. What are they like!?" Beechpaw mewed excitedly.

"They have an air of wisdom to them, you look in their eyes, and you can tell that they know so much more than you. But at the same time, they're vague as hell, and I do not like it," Lightningpaw explained.

Beechpaw let out a mrrow of laughter.

"Maybe Starclan wants us to make our own choices?" Beechpaw mewed, "Also, what is hell?"

"It's a twoleg word. It's like the opposite of Starclan, except for twolegs," Lightningpaw explained.

"Twolegs believe in Starclan?" Beechpaw asked.

"Yes, kind of, but we call it heaven. It'd take a lot of time to explain," Lightningpaw said.

"I didn't expect this from twolegs, I always thought twolegs were kind of dumb, no offense," Beechpaw mewed.

Lightningpaw laughed hard at that.

"I ought to agree with you there, they don't always make sense," Lightningpaw said, laughing.

The sky was starting to lighten, and Lightningpaw began to feel something within. He was shrinking, and fur began to grow on his forearms. His mouth stretched out to form a muzzle. The transformation back into a cat didn't hurt as much as becoming human did.

The robe fell around Lightningpaw as he transformed and became smaller.

"I'm back!" Lightningpaw mewed excitedly.

Beechpaw looked at him, her eyes wide again.

"Woah," she mewed breathlessly.

"We should get ride of this," Lightningpaw mewed, flicking his tail at the robe.

They dragged the robe out of the forest and left it next to the fence that Lightningpaw had taken it from.

"Let's catch some prey and go back to camp," Lightningpaw mewed.

Beechpaw led the way, sniffing the air. "I can smell a sparrow!" Beechpaw mewed.

Lightningpaw watched as she crouched down and stalked towards the bird. It was picking seeds off the ground. She crept forward, each movement seeming natural to her. She leaped at the bird as it started to fly away, swiping it down with a paw. She pinned it to the ground and killed it with a swift bite. She buried the sparrow and turned to Lightningpaw.

"You're such a good hunter!" Lightningpaw mewed.

"Thanks! Now, how about you give it a try?" Beechpaw mewed.

Lightningpaw sniffed the air. He picked out the scent of a shrew. He slinked low to the ground and followed its scent trail. He spotted the shrew nibbling on grass seed, dropping into a hunter's crouch, he began to put his slowly stalk his prey.

Crunch.

Lightningpaw accidentally stepped on a leaf. The shrew darted away, and he hissed in frustration.

Beechpaw padded up to him. "You'll get it next time," she mewed sympathetically.

"I've barely caught any prey since we've gotten here. What if I never get the hang of this? They said if we can't pull our weight, they'll kick us out," Lightningpaw mewed in distress.

"You'll get better in time, I promise. We've only been apprentices for half a moon," Beechpaw assured him

"But you're so good at hunting. What if they kick me out, but not you?" Lightningpaw mewed.

"Then I'll leave with you, I'll go with you wherever you go," Beechpaw mewed, "And remember, you've only been a cat for half a moon too."

"You're right, you're absolutely right," Lightningpaw mewed, licking her cheek.

"Now try again, Lightningpaw," Beechpaw mewed.

Lightningpaw sniffed the air again. This time he smelled cats.

"Where have you two been?" Leafstorm's voice meowed behind them, a mix of angry and worried.

"Leafstorm...." Lightningpaw stammered, "What's up? How are you?"

"We took a late-night walk and decided to hunt before we came back," Beechpaw mewed.

"And you decided to tell no one?" Fireclaw growled.

"We just thought-" Lightningpaw mewed.

"No, you didn't think," Leafstorm hissed, interrupting him.

Lightningpaw flinched at her tone of voice.

"We're sorry Leafstorm, we won't go out without permission again," Beechpaw mewed, dipping her head.

Leafstorm's voice softened, "I know you two are still new here, next just don't go out alone without telling anyone. Now, you two join us on the dawn patrol."

Fireclaw walked up to them, "You're lucky I'm not the deputy, or you wouldn't have it so easy," Fireclaw hissed silently at Lightningpaw and Beechpaw.

A small brown tom named Twigstep gave them a sympathetic look.

"Fireclaw is just fiercely loyal to his clan, if you prove yourself, he'll ease up on you two," Twigstep explained.

"We're going to mark the Praireclan border," Leafstorm meowed, "Then we'll go back to camp. I want you two to help Rustyfur with anything he might need."

They walked along the river border with Praireclan. Lightningpaw looked out past their territory at Starclan's Watch. His mind drifted off as he stared in the distance. Then his heart quickened, and he seized up in terror. His paws collapsed from under him. Lighningpaw heard the gasps of shock from his companions as he slipped into unconsciousness.

He woke up and was surrounded by tall grass. At first, it was peacefully calm, birds were flying overhead. Then, out of nowhere, a hawk's call filled the air. The screeches of cats erupted all around him. A mass of fighting cats swirled around him. Blood flowed out from between the stalks of grass, lapping at his paws. There was a whirlwind of voices whispering into his ear.

"Beware, beware, beware," they meowed, hissed, and growled.

Lightningpaw's eyes shot open. Flamepaw was sitting over him, her beautiful ginger coat shining like fire in the sun.

"Lightningpaw! Lightningpaw, are you okay?" Flamepaw mewed, frantically shaking him with a paw.

"Now that you're here? Yes," Lightningpaw mewed hoarsely.

Her eyes shown with worry as she looked at him.

"Leafstorm said you collapsed while on patrol. They brought you back here. You've been unconscious since," Flamepaw mewed.

"What time is it now?" he asked.

"It's past sunhigh," she mewed softly, "I've been worried sick, I haven't left your side, not once."

Lightningpaw looked around and saw the sun starting to set. He was about to tell Flamepaw about his dream, but something whispered into his ear, not yet.

"I don't know what happened to me," Lightningpaw mewed, "I just collapsed,"

"You'll be okay, but you need to rest for the rest of the day," meowed Rustyfur, the dark ginger medicine cat, as he walked into the den.

"But Leafstorm said I had to help you!" Lightningpaw mewed, trying to stand on his paws, but falling down, all of the strength gone from his body.

"Leafstorm has given you the day off," Rustyfur growled, "Flamepaw, I want you to keep watch on him while I go out for herbs."

The dark ginger tom stalked out of the medicine cat den.

Lightningpaw sunk back into the nest he was in.

"He's such a grouch," Lightningpaw muttered

"Yes, he is," Flamepaw purred, "but he's a softy deep down. I promise."

"I'd much rather have you take care of me anyways," Lightningpaw mewed, "You're a lot nicer. Prettier too,"

"I'm sure he'd be far more handsome if he cleaned his fur for once," Flamepaw purred teasingly.

Then Lightningpaw's stomach growl, and he licked his chest fur in embarrassment.

"Are you hungry?" Flamepaw asked.

"Yes," Lightningpaw admitted, he hadn't eaten since yesterday.

Flamepaw padded out of the den, quickly returning with a plump rabbit. Lightningpaw struggled into a crouched position to eat. She set the rabbit down at his paws.

"Do you want to share?" Lightningpaw mewed before he took a bite.

"Sure," Flamepaw mewed, settling down next to him.

"So," Lightningpaw mewed in between chews, "Why did you become a medicine cat?"

"I don't know, I've just always wanted to be one. When I was a kit, I use to spend a lot of in the medicine cats den for no reason. I just liked watching Rustyfur work. He threatened to claw my fur off multiple times," Flamepaw mewed, mrrowing in laughter.

"Rustyfur is lucky to have you as his apprentice," Lightningpaw mewed.

"There's so much to do, and sometimes I'm not sure that I'll be good enough. Sometimes I think I get in the way," she admitted.

"You're going to make an amazing medicine cat one day, the best the clans have ever known, I'm sure" Lightningpaw mewed.

"And I'm sure you'll be an amazing warrior," Flamepaw mewed.

"I'm not so sure," Lightningpaw admitted.

"Why's that?" Flamepaw asked.

"I haven't been a great hunter so far, I keep messing up, and I have some real battle training tomorrow. So far, we've only been practicing moves without an actual opponent. I'm nervous that I'll be a bad at that too," Lightningpaw mewed, nervously bitting into the rabbit.

Flamepaw scooted closer to Lightningpaw. Her sweet scent filled his nose.

"If I can become a great medicine cat, you can become a great warrior," Flamepaw mewed.

They ate the rest of the rabbit. Flamepaw went to bury it and curled up next to Lightningpaw when she returned. Soon, he could tell that she had fallen asleep, her soft fur rising and falling slowly. He couldn't sleep and laid their restless until Rustyfur came back with a mouthful of herbs.

"It's getting late. You have to train tomorrow, do you want a poppy seed to help you sleep?" Rustyfur meowed after putting down his bundle.

Lightningpaw nodded, and Rustyfur gave him a black seed. He laid his head down on his paw as he drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter Five

Lightningpaw woke up in the Medicine Cat den. Lifting up his groggy, poppy seed affected head, he realized that it was dawn. Flamepaw was sleeping next to him, her soft fur rising and falling. He tried to get up without waking her, but her eyes fluttered open. She yawned and sat up.

"Good morning," she mewed sleepily.

"Morning," he mewed back.

"Where are you going?" she mewed, opening her jaws into a big yawn.

"I have battle training today, remember?" he mewed.

"Will I be seeing you when you get back?" she asked, looking sad that he had to go.

"I would love to," he mewed.

Lightningpaw was about to leave, but Flamepaw rushed up to him and pressed her nose to his.

"I can't wait for you to get back," she mewed quietly, before running out of the Medicine Cat den.

Lightningpaw could still smell her sweet scent in the air, cling to his fur, as he watched her tail disappear. He flushed with embarrassment and just stood there for a moment. Then the trance broke, and he hurried out of the den to talk to Leafstorm.

His mentor was sending out the dawn patrol, so he waited for her to finish. She turned to him as they were walking away.

"Lightningpaw, can you go get the other apprentices? We're going to train as a group today," Leafstorm meowed.

Lightningpaw could feel anxiety coursing through his veins as she told him they were training as a group, but he did as she said. He padded to the Apprentice den and poked his head inside.

"Wake up, we're training together today," he mewed.

First to get up was Beechpaw, she sat up and gave her fur a few quick licks before walking out of the den.

"Go away kittypet, we're trying to sleep," Frostpaw mewed drowsily.

"Get up," Lightningpaw mewed louder, stepping inside, "Don't make me get Leafstorm in here."

The other apprentices groaned but got up. One by one, they streamed out of the den. Frostpaw muttered something about kittypets, Whitepaw shoved Lightningpaw as he walked past him, and Sunpaw gave him a contemptuous stare before looking away.

Lightningpaw sighed as he followed them out out of the den.

Waiting by the camp entrance was Leafstorm, Liontail, Frostpaw's mentor Fireclaw, Whitepaw's mentor Bluestream, Sunpaw's mentor Wildfire, and Furryfoot, a young brown-furred warrior. The apprentices lined up in front of the warriors.

"We were originally planning on doing individual battle training, but decided to do a group assessment instead." Leafstorm meowed, "For the next three days, we'll be testing you on a few skills. Day one will be a test of your battle skills, day two will be a test of your speed, tracking, and climbing skills, and day three will be a test of your hunting skills. Furryfoot will be joining us today to make an even six."

Lightningpaw gulped at the thought of training with the other apprentices. He was worried about embarrassing himself in front of the others, of giving them another reason to dislike him.

"Are there any questions?" Leafstorm asked.

If there were any questions, nobody asked.

"Good, now let's go to the training hollow," Leafstorm meowed.

They walked through the forest to the training hollow. The training hollow was an area with no trees, there was a depression in the ground, and soft grass spread over the clearing. The apprentices waited to be told what to do.

"We'll start by doing one on one battles. We've already decided who will be fighting whom. The pairs will be Whitepaw vs. Furryfoot, Frostpaw vs. Sunpaw, and Lightningpaw vs. Beechpaw," Leafstorm meowed.

"Yeah, let the kittypets fight, we wouldn't want them to get hurt fighting real warriors," Sunpaw sneered.

"Sunpaw, the only real warrior here is Furryfoot. You all have a long way to go. Now, I suggest you watch your tongue," Wildfire meowed harshly.

Sunpaw gave her mentor an indignant look but didn't argue.

"We'll start with Whitepaw and Furryfoot," Leafstorm meowed, then turned to Furryfoot, "Make sure you go easy on him, he's still an apprentice,"

"He won't need to go easy on me, I can fight any warrior," Whitepaw boasted.

Whitepaw and Furryfoot then faced off against one another. They slowly circled each other, their eyes staring intently to see who would make the first move. Whitepaw took the first move, leaping at Furryfoot. Furryfoot side-stepped the attack, but Whitepaw turned on a dime and struck Furryfoot with his large front paw.

Furryfoot staggered at the blow but quickly regained his footing. This time he charged at Whitepaw. He grappled with the huge black-furred tom. He pinned Whitepaw for a moment, but Whitepaw wretched around and used his hind legs to kick Furryfoot off of him.

Whitepaw leaped to his paws. The two toms lept at each other and collided midair in a ball of white and brown fur. Neither getting the upper hand over the other. Bluestream, Whitepaw's mentor, stared on intently, studying her apprentices move.

Whitepaw jumped onto Furryfoot's back and wouldn't let go. Furryfoot pushed off the ground onto his hind legs and fell backward, crushing Whitepaw under him. Whitepaw let go, winded by the fall and the other tom's weight. Furryfoot pinned down Whitepaw. Leafstorm called the match, and Whitepaw struggled to his paws. Both him and Furryfoot were breathing heavily from the fight.

"You fought well, Whitepaw. You even made Furryfoot put in some effort," Bluestream purred, touching noses with her apprentice.

Whitepaw gleamed with pride as he went to sit with the other apprentices.

"Beat that kittypets," Whitepaw hissed as he leaned closer to Lightningpaw and Beechpaw.

They ignored him.

"Frostpaw, Sunpaw, it's your turn," Liontail meowed.

This time, Frostpaw and Sunpaw circled one another. Sunpaw started the attack, and Frostpaw met her in midair. The two cats vied for a dominant position over the other. They writhed around the hollow, forcing everyone else to leap out of the way. For a moment, Frostpaw was on top, but Sunpaw knocked the tom's leg out from under him, and he toppled over. Sunpaw took the opportunity to pin the other apprentice down.

"Sunpaw wins!" Leafstorm meowed.

The two cats separated, and Frostpaw glared at Sunpaw before walking away.

Fireclaw whispered something fiercely into Frostpaw's ear and sent the apprentice away.

Sunpaw sat down after touching noses with her mentor.

"Good job Sunpaw," Lightningpaw meowed, trying to be nice.

"I bet you're jealous, kittypet, I doubt you can even fight," Sunpaw sneered.

Lightningpaw could only huff in annoyance before Leafstorm called Beechpaw and him to fight next. They circled one another. Beechpaw leaped at Lightningpaw. He tried to dodge her attack, but he slipped on the soft grass. He fell to his side, and Beechpaw pinned him down with a paw to his chest. The other apprentices snicked and sneered at Lightningpaw. Beechpaw mrrowed in laughter.

"I slipped!" Lightningpaw mewed defensively.

"Sure you did," Beechpaw purred.

"That's no excuse, what if you slip in battle? You'll surely be clawed by your opponent," Leafstorm meowed;

Then she sighed.

"Ok, I want you two to try that again," Leafstorm meowed.

Lightningpaw and Beechpaw circled each other. This time, Lightningpaw rushed at Beechpaw, but she side-stepped his attack. Lightningpaw turned, lashing out at Beechpaw with his paw. Beechpaw daintily dodged again and leaped at him once more. They rolled around briefly before Beechpaw pinned him down once again.

"Beechpaw won," Leafstorm meowed, "Lightningpaw, come with me," her voice was annoyed.

Lightningpaw got up shamefully and walked with Leafstorm out of the hollow.

"What in the name of Starclan was that?" Leafstorm snarled.

Lightningpaw bowed his head with shame, unable to answer.

"Are you trying to get kicked out of Forestclan?" Leafstorm hissed fiercely.

"No, Leafstorm," Lightningpaw mewed.

"Then get it together," Leafstorm hissed, "I expect you to do better during the rest of battle training, or you'll go hungry tonight."

Lightningpaw walked back to the training hollow with his head down. Battle training went on for a while longer. The cats fought in various situations, fighting one another at least once. There were also two on two fights and two on one fighting. Lightningpaw lost all of the one-on-one battles. He did slightly better in the two on two and two on one fights, if he was the one fighting with a partner.

It was the evening when they finished. All the apprentices were tired and bruised. They stopped by a nearby pool to get a drink of water. Then they started to walk back to camp. Lightningpaw walked at the back and Beechpaw fell into step with him.

"You tried your best," Beechpaw mewed, flicking him with her tail.

"It went awful," Lightningpaw spat.

"It was our first real training session," she argued.

"And yet you did amazing," he mewed, bitterness creeping into his voice.

"That's not fair," she mewed softly.

Lightningpaw sighed, knowing she was right.

"I'm just so," Lightningpaw trailed off, before continuing, "frustrated. I can't seem to get fighting right."

"Maybe it's because you're still new to being a cat?" Beechpaw suggested, "You've only been one for half a moon after all. Give it time."

"What if I don't have time?" Lightningpaw mewed frantically, "They said that if we can't pull our weight in the clan, then they'll kick us out."

"You'll figure it out, I know you will," Beechpaw mewed.

"Lightningpaw, Beechpaw, catch up," Leafstorm called as the two apprentices had fallen behind by quite a bit.

They walked the rest of the way back to camp in silence. One by one, they slipped into the camp. Cats were sharing tongues, gossiping about clan news. Lightningpaw remembered his promise to Flamepaw. He said goodbye to Beechpaw and immediately began to walk to the Medicine Cat den.

Inside was Rustyfur and Flamepaw sorting herbs. He thought back to when he had doubted their medicine, but he was surprised that it actually worked quite well.

"Flamepaw? I'm back," Lightningpaw mewed, grateful to see the pretty ginger she-cat again.

"Lightningpaw!" she exclaimed, "Rustyfur, we've been collecting and sorting herbs all day. May I please go now?"

"Fine," Rustyfur meowed gruffly, flicking his tail to send her away.

Flamepaw padded over to Lightningpaw and asked, "How was training?"

"I did so bad, just appallingly bad," Lightningpaw mewed, beginning to walk out of the den with Flamepaw.

"You couldn't have done that bad," Flamepaw mewed, trying to reassure him.

"No, you don't understand, I did bad. I didn't win any of the mock battles by myself," Lightningpaw mewed, lowering his head.

Flamepaw pressed her body closer to his.

"It was your first time, give it time," Flamepaw mewed reassuringly.

The pair of cats grabbed a large rabbit to share from the fresh-kill pile.

Beechpaw joined them with a mouse of her own.

"I wouldn't even waste my time with him, Flamepaw, he can barely even fight," came Sunpaw's jeer from next to the Apprentice den. She was next to Whitepaw and Frostpaw, who sneered at the apprentice. His anger at losing seemingly forgotten.

"Leave him alone, he's still new to clan life," Flamepaw mewed, looking away from her sister.

Sunpaw gave an annoyed look and stalked into the den. Frostpaw and Whitepaw hurled a few jeers at Lightningpaw and Beechpaw before following her in.

Lightningpaw was looking at his paws in disappointment.

"What if they're right? What if I'm not meant for clan life?" Lightningpaw mewed, his appetite suddenly gone.

"That's nonsense! Just because you don't have clan blood doesn't mean you can't be a good warrior," Flamepaw mewed.

"I know, Beechpaw has so much potential to be a good warrior." Lightningpaw mewed, resting his tail on his friend, "I'm just not sure I have the potential to be a good warrior."

"Don't be a mouse brain," Beechpaw hissed, "You're letting what the other apprentices said get to you. Remember when we first got here? We beat Frostpaw, and most of the clan accepted us after that."

"But I didn't do it by myself," Lightningpaw argued.

"And? Just channel what you felt then into your training, I know you can do it," Beechpaw mewed insistently. She had finished her mouse and got up to go to the apprentice's den, apparently done with this conversation.

Flamepaw put her tail on his shoulder. Lightningpaw looked at her warm gaze and felt himself flush again.

"Remember what we talked about yesterday? You can be a great warrior, I believe in you, Beechpaw believes in you, you just have to believe in yourself," she mewed, "Now, let's go to bed,"

They got up and walked in the bed. Beechpaw was already curled up in her nest, exhausted from training. Lightningpaw laid in between Beechpaw and Flamepaw, his fur brushing against the latter. He quickly drifted into unconsciousness.


End file.
